I’ve gotten my fair share of pushback about my healing journey—comments like “Well, you’re just lucky,” or “It’s because they removed the tumor,” or “Your surgery is what saved you.” And while I’m grateful for every part of my story, I also know the truth: cancer was already in my lymph nodes. Tumor removal alone was never going to be the magic bullet. That’s just not how cancer behaves. My healing has been a whole-life journey—physical, emotional, spiritual, nutritional, metabolic—and it took every single layer, not just one moment in a surgical room.
And that’s exactly why this conversation matters so much.
Could outdated medical thinking be costing people their lives?
It’s not easy to talk about, but we cannot pretend it doesn’t matter.
Most people don’t realize how slowly medicine—especially cancer medicine—actually changes. There’s a documented “clinical lag” of 10–17 years between what science knows and what standard practice actually does. And here’s a perfect example: FOLFOX-6, the front-line chemotherapy still recommended for colon cancer today, is over 50 years old. Half a century. In a world where science evolves monthly, we’re still leaning on a regimen from the early 1970s as if nothing better—or more integrative—exists.
For someone facing an aggressive cancer, that kind of delay isn’t just frustrating; it can be devastating. When medicine moves that slowly, it means patients are often fighting today’s battles with yesterday’s tools… while newer supportive therapies sit on the sidelines waiting for approval, funding, or acceptance.
And in that gap? Patients miss out on things that could have:
✨ supported longer survival
✨ slowed tumor growth
✨ strengthened immune function
✨ reduced inflammation
✨ improved treatment response
✨ supported quality of life
Not because these approaches were unsafe or unsupported—
…but because they weren’t accepted yet.
And this isn’t new. We’ve seen holistic and integrative breakthroughs dismissed for years before finally being validated.
Major holistic breakthroughs once brushed off as “alternative” include:
🌱the gut–microbiome connection
🌱nutrition as a core part of cancer care
🌱 plant-forward, anti-inflammatory diets
🌱 the role of insulin and sugar in cancer growth
🌱 intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating
🌱 mind–body practices like prayer, meditation, and breathwork
🌱 movement and exercise as cancer therapy
🌱 omega-3s for inflammation and immune support
🌱 vitamin D optimization
🌱 curcumin and other botanicals
🌱 vitamin C therapies (including IV)
🌱 garlic, ginger, and herbal medicine traditions
🌱 hyperbaric oxygen therapy
🌱 sauna therapy and heat stress
🌱 grounding and time in nature
🌱 sleep as a foundational pillar of healing
Every single one of these was doubted, mocked, or pushed aside before the research finally caught up.
So why does this keep happening?
It’s because the system itself is slow. Painfully slow.
🎯No funding for therapies that can’t be patented
🎯 Fear of going outside established guidelines
🎯 Bias toward expensive drug-driven solutions
🎯 Rigid institutional thinking
🎯 A lack of research on natural or repurposed medicines
🎯 A cultural discomfort with integrative or faith-led approaches
It’s not conspiracy—it’s inertia.
But that inertia still costs lives.
Yes… it is absolutely possible that people have died far too soon because healing modalities weren’t accepted or studied until decades after the evidence started pointing toward them.
And the ones living in those “in-between” years—those are the ones who pay the price.
💥This is why integrative oncology matters!
💥Why nutritional and metabolic support matters!
💥Why natural compounds matter!
💥Why patient-led exploration matters!
💥Why faith-led healing matters!
People deserve every safe, evidence-informed option—
not just the ones that fit neatly into a guideline or a profit model.
❣️We need open minds.
❣️We need faster adoption of what works.
❣️ And we need to stop letting outdated dogma hold back healing.
I share all of this for one reason: because someone out there is standing where I once stood—scared, overwhelmed, and being told there’s only one acceptable way to heal. My story isn’t about convincing anyone to do what I did. It’s about widening the lens. It’s about making sure people know they have options, that healing can be layered and personal and God-led, and that “standard care” isn’t the only way to support the body. If my voice can help even one person feel less alone, more empowered, or more willing to advocate for themselves, then sharing the harder parts of my journey is worth it every single time. I’m here because I was willing to ask different questions—and I’ll keep speaking because someone else needs the courage to do the same.
I’ll close with a verse that God has been putting on my heart.
Ezekiel 47:12 (NKJV)
Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.
Until next time…..keep joy in your mind and in your heart❣️
With love and gratitude,
Ali 🫶🏼✌🏼
#icouldhavemissedthis
#lifeaftercancer #gratefulnomads #nomadlife #fulltimervlife #nomads #IntegrativeOncology #PatientEmpowerment #HolisticHealing #MetabolicApproach #NaturalHealing #FaithInWildPlaces #CancerCommunity
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